I’ve been trying to think of something funny or interesting to share with my friends here. Today I can’t. Often the truths of life should be kept to yourself, and not shared with others. But then again, blogging can mean different things to different folks. Some have very businesslike approaches, others share every aspect of their personal lives, while my favourite blogs to read are a mix of both. I’ve always tended to say pretty much what I feel, and so far, haven’t been shot down in flames for that.

I don’t generally believe in randomness as far as life goes. I’ve always found that there are lessons in every little thing that comes our way. Right now, I’m really struggling to figure out what the lessons could be in some of the things that have happened over the last few weeks. My older friends will know that, apart from the no bonking, garlic or onions rule, I’m a pretty staunch follower of Karma Yoga. The yogins of old say that onions and garlic are deeply offensive on the astral plane. I’m prepared to take my chances on that one though. Life without those little luxuries would be boring indeed. Obviously, very few people are able to live their lives sticking strictly to the rules of Karma, but I do my best, and generally find that my life is easier for it. Ideally, in following this path the personal ego is pushed aside in the desire to serve the “divine” in every thing, be it man, animal, plant or any other thing. Always doing the right thing and accepting destiny as it comes. Be good. Do good. Be kind. Sort of thing…..

Simple as this sounds, it’s not always an easy path to follow. Telling the truth, acting responsibly, and accepting any nasty bits that life lobs at you as lessons to be learned, instead of kicking, screaming, or socking anyone in the eyeball, can be very difficult. If you can do these difficult things though, life really does become easier to deal with. I think so anyway. If you don’t have an overloaded conscience filled with concealed guilt, nefarious plots, or angry hatred, life tends to be mostly sweet.

I’ve been pretty much out of it for the last few weeks. Having to go to the last ditch resort of taking Quinine tablets to get rid of complicated Malaria has been pretty nasty. The side effects of the tablets are a lot worse than the disease. One was deeply odd. I couldn’t hear a word anyone was saying for days. I could, and did “hear” some pretty oddball music with proper surround sound effects, bells, and whistles. I tried to keep up with everything, but failed horribly. Lesson learned = don’t take life for granted. You could clock out at any time. Surfacing properly towards the end of last week, I started with my catch up, and found to my dismay that all friends aren’t true, and that some are capable of doing some fairly rotten things, for reasons known only to themselves. This doesn’t worry me overly. Living a life sticking as close to truth as you can ultimately tends to keep you safe from these sorts of things. Lesson learned = be careful who you trust.

The biggest and baddest thing that happened, I’m really struggling to come to terms with, or figure out what lesson is to be learned from it. It’s much more important to me than petty human nastiness. My friends know how much I love all things feathered, and my rages at anyone who hurts them are generally loud and frequent. This time I’m thinking that I’m the one that hurt them. My beloved turkey guys, Jack and Diane, were killed by a swarm of bees on Friday. This is a really terrible way to go, and I’ve been bawling on and off ever since. The swarm was huge, and all we could do was watch from the window as those mindless shitty little insects did what they did. The whole household is sad, and going outside is beyond unpleasant, because every little spot carries a memory of them. This has cracked my belief that there is a reason for every little thing a bit. It seemed really random to begin with. If they had to go, why that particularly painful and terrifying way? Unless I’ve been wrong all along, and things really are just random, I guess that this lesson would be that if you are going to take a creature into your home, make a pet of it, and prevent it from living its life in its natural environment, you have to be sure that you can keep it safe from harm. I clearly failed this time. A hard lesson to learn indeed. Rest in peace, Jack and Diane.